Slide rail locking device

ABSTRACT

A slide rail locking device includes a first and a second slide rail assemblies and a first and a second activators. Each of the first and second slide rail assemblies includes a stationary slide rail and a telescopic slide rail assembly. The first activator is disposed at one end of the telescopic slide rail assembly. The second activator is disposed on the stationary slide rail corresponding to the first activator. The second activator includes a base seat, a swinging member and a bar member. The base seat is arranged at one end of the stationary slide rail. The swinging member is disposed on the base seat corresponding to the first activator. Two ends of the bar member are respectively positioned between the base seats and the swinging members of the first and second slide rail assemblies. When the telescopic slide rail assembly of one of the slide rail assemblies is extended out of the stationary slide rail, the swinging member of this slide rail assembly chucks the bar member and prevents the bar member from sliding. At this time, the telescopic slide rail assembly of the other slide rail assembly will be unable to extend out of the stationary slide rail.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a locking device, and more particularly to a slide rail locking device of a tool cabinet or a file cabinet having several drawers.

A drawer and a cabinet are equipped with corresponding rails. The rails are slidably fitted with each other for easily pushing or drawing the drawer within the cabinet. The rails are provided with stoppers such as projecting blocks or projecting plates to prevent the drawer from detaching from the cabinet and dropping.

The drawer is often designed with a considerable length for receiving more articles. In order to fully draw the drawer out of the cabinet without being derailed and immediately push the drawer into the cabinet after taking articles, three rails are provided, including a cabinet slide rail, a middle slide rail and a drawer slide rail. Each slide rail has stop blocks on predetermined portions of one end or two ends of the slide rail. The slide rails are slidably assembled with each other and the stop blocks stop each other, whereby the drawer can be fully drawn out of the cabinet without derailing and dropping. Ball bearings are provided between the slide rails to reduce frictional force therebetween and noise.

The tool cabinet or file cabinet includes several drawers arranged from upper side to lower side. After the drawers contain tools or files, the drawers will have considerable weight. In the case that the drawers are drawn too hard or in the case of earthquake or collision by external force, the tool cabinet or file cabinet will be tilted to make some drawers slip out. Under such circumstance, the gravity center of the cabinet will change and the cabinet may fall down.

In order to avoid tilting down of the cabinet when drawing out too many drawers, a slide rail locking structure has been developed by which only one drawer can be drawn at one time. Substantially, a linking unit is disposed at one end of each slide rail assembly. Once the drawer slide rail of one slide rail assembly is pulled, the linking unit is activated to drive a link disposed between the respective slide rail assemblies to stop the drawer slide rails of other slider rail assemblies from being pulled. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,030, a disc-like activating block is disposed at rear end of the drawer slide rail. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,701, an activating block having a slope is disposed at front end of one side of the drawer. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,778, an activating block is disposed at front end of the drawer slide rail.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,030, a hook body is disposed at rear end of the drawer slide rail for hooking and pulling the disc-like activating block. This is strength-consuming and the components are likely to be worn. Therefore, the using life of the product is shortened

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a slide rail locking device which is mounted in a narrow space of a cabinet having several drawers. By means of the slide rail locking device, after one of the drawers is drawn out, the other drawers are locked and prevented from being drawn out.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above slide rail locking device by which the drawers can be still smoothly drawn out and pushed in without being hindered. This prolongs the using life of the product.

According to the above objects, the slide rail locking device of the present invention includes a first and a second slide rail assemblies and a first and a second activators. Each of the first and second slide rail assemblies includes a stationary slide rail and a telescopic slide rail assembly. The first activator is disposed at one end of the telescopic slide rail assembly. The second activator is disposed on the stationary slide rail corresponding to the first activator. The second activator includes a base seat, a swinging member and a bar member.

The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of the slide rail assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention, showing that the telescopic slide rail assembly is extended out of the stationary slide rail;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the present invention, showing that the swinging member is positioned in a first position where the first activator is not moved into the base seat;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the present invention, showing that the swinging member is positioned in a second position where the first activator is moved into the base seat;

FIG. 5A shows the operation of the present invention;

FIG. 5B shows the displacement of the bar member according to FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A also shows the operation of the present invention;

FIG. 6B shows the displacement of the bar member according to FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of other embodiment of the present invention, showing that the swinging member is positioned in the second position where the first activator is moved into the base seat;

FIG. 8 is a partially front view of another embodiment of the present invention, showing that there is one end of other bar member linking a locking section whereby the bar members are confined to movement;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the locking section of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a partially front view of another embodiment of the present invention, showing that the locking section unlocks the bar members; and

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the locking section of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 4, 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B. The slide rail locking device 1 of the present invention includes a first slide rail assembly 11, a second slide rail assembly 12, a first activator 13 and a second activator 14 arranged on the first and second slide rail assemblies 11, 12.

The first slide rail assembly 11 is positioned above the second slide rail assembly 12 corresponding thereto. Each of the first and second slide rail assemblies 11, 12 includes a stationary slide rail 92 and a telescopic slide rail assembly 94.

The stationary slide rail 92 is a channeled body having a bottom wall and two sidewalls. The outer face of the bottom wall of the stationary slide rail 92 is fixed on an inner side of a cabinet. The cabinet has an internal space in which at least two drawers arranged from upper side to lower side.

The telescopic slide rail assembly 94 includes a drawer slide rail 941 and a middle slide rail 942. Each of the drawer slide rail 941 and middle slide rail 942 is a channeled body having a bottom wall and two sidewalls. The outer face of the bottom wall of the drawer slide rail 941 is fixed on a drawer. The two sidewalls of the drawer slide rail 941 are slidably positioned in the middle slide rail 942. The middle slide rail 942 of the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 is slidably positioned in the stationary slide rail 92. The middle slide rail 942 can extend out from front end of the stationary slide rail 92.

The first activator 13 is disposed at one end of the drawer slide rail 941 of the telescopic slide rail assembly 94. The first activator 13 is a tongue projecting toward the stationary slide rail 92.

The second activator 14 is disposed on the stationary slide rail 92 corresponding to the first activator 13. The second activator 14 includes a base seat 41, a swinging member 42 and a bar member 43.

The base seat 41 is arranged at one end of the stationary slide rail 92.

The swinging member 42 is disposed on the base seat 41 corresponding to the first activator 13. The swinging member 42 is reciprocally movable between a first position and a second position across the sliding direction of the telescopic slide rail assembly 94. The swinging member 42 has at least one swinging guide slope 421 for guiding the first activator 13 into the base seat 41. That is, when the drawer is pushed into the cabinet, the first activator 13 abuts against and pushes the swinging member 42 to move from the first position (referring to FIG. 3) to the second position (referring to FIG. 4). One end of the swinging member 42 is fixed on the base seat 41. The other end of the swinging member 42 extends toward the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 and is clockwise bent once (according to FIGS. 3 and 4) to form the swinging guide slope 421 for guiding the first activator 13 into the base seat 41. The function of the bending section of the swinging member 42 will be further described hereinafter.

The bar member 43 is reciprocally movably disposed between the first and second slide rail assemblies 11, 12. Two ends of the bar member 43 are respectively fitted through the base seats 41 of the first and second slide rail assemblies 11, 12 and positioned between the base seats 41 and the swinging members 42. Each end of the bar member 43 is formed with a bar member guide slope 431 for the first activator 1 3 to push the bar member 43. The function of the bar member guide slope 431 will be further described hereinafter.

According to the above arrangement, when the swinging members 42 of the first and second slide rail assemblies 11, 12 are positioned in the second position, none of the swinging members 42 can restrict the bar member 43 from sliding. In other words, one of the telescopic slide rail assemblies 94 is slidable. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5A, when the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 of the first slide rail assembly 11 is extended, the swinging member 42 of the first slide rail assembly 11 moves from the second position to the first position. Under such circumstance, the bending section of the swinging member 42 abuts against the bar member 43, that is, the swinging member 42 chucks the bar member 43 to prevent the bar member 43 from sliding. In other words, the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 of the second slide rail assembly 12 will be unable to extend forward. Accordingly, after one of the drawers is drawn out, the other drawer cannot be drawn out.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6A, proceeding with the above operation, after the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 of the first slide rail assembly 11 is pushed in, the swinging member 42 of the first slide rail assembly 11 moves from the first position to the second position. Under such circumstance, the swinging member 42 no longer abuts against the bar member 43, that is, the bar member 43 is slidable. At this time, via the bar member guide slope 431, the first activator 13 of the second slide rail assembly 12 can push the bar member 43. Accordingly, the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 of the second slide rail assembly 12 can be extended. At the same time, the two ends of the bar member 43 respectively abut against the swinging member 42 of the second slide rail assembly 12 and the first activator 13 of the first slide rail assembly 11 to restrict the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 of the first slide rail assembly 11 from sliding.

The guide slope 431 of the bar member 43 is designed for the first activator 1 3 to push and move the bar member 43.

The slide rail locking device 1 of the present invention has the following advantages:

-   -   1. The swinging member 42 reciprocally moves in a direction         across the sliding direction of the telescopic slide rail         assembly 94. In addition, the swinging member 42 is designed         with a bending section. Therefore, the other drawer can be         easily and reliably locked or released.     -   2. The first activator 13 is a projecting tongue and the bar         member 43 is formed with a guide slope 431 for the first         activator 13 to easily push the bar member 43.

Alternatively, the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 can only has the drawer slide rail 941 without the middle slide rail 942. Two sidewalls of the drawer slide rail 941 are slidably fitted in the stationary slide rail 92. This can also achieve the effect of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B, the bar member 43 is further formed with another bar member guide slope 432 opposite to the bar member guide slope 431. In case that an error happens during the assembling procedure of the present invention and the bar member 43 stops the telescopic slide rail assembly 94 from inward (backward) sliding, via the other bar member guide slope 432, the first activator 13 can push the bar member 43 to its true position. This avoids disassembly of the components.

In addition, further referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, an outer end of the first activator 13, that is, the tongue, is formed with an arced face 1 31, whereby the first activator 13 can more smoothly push the swinging member 42.

Furthermore, the present invention should be paid attention to the relative structure of the first activator 13 and the swinging member 42. The swinging member 42 should be in the first position which the bending section of the swinging member 42 abuts against the bar member 43 before the first activator 13 is out of the base seat 41 and does not abut against the swinging member 42 in order to maintain the function of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, wherein the first activator 13 can be disposed at the middle section of the drawer slide rail 941. The first activator 13 is a tongue extending from the outer face of the bottom wall of the drawer slide rail 941, toward the sidewall of the drawer slide rail 941 and across the sidewall of the stationary slide rail 92 and projecting toward the stationary slide rail 92. The second activator 14 is disposed on the middle section of the stationary slide rail 92 corresponding to the first activator 13. This can also achieve the effect of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 11, the present invention further comprises other bar member 43′ and a locking section 15. The locking section 15 is firmly disposed above and next to the base seat 41 of the first slide rail assemblies 11. The other bar member 43′ is reciprocally movably disposed between the locking section 15 and the base seat 41 of the first slide rail assemblies 11.

The locking section 15 includes a locking seat 52, a block 54, a spring 56 and a cable 58. The spring 56 is disposed between the locking seat 52 and the block 54. Two ends of the spring 56 respectively abut against the locking seat 52 and the middle portion of block 54. One end of the cable 58 connects one end of the block 54. The other end of the cable 58 connects a key device (not shown). The block 54 can be reciprocally moved between a third position (referring to FIG. 9) and a fourth position (referring to FIG. 11) by the key device being turned and the elastic force of the spring 56.

Two ends of the other bar member 43′ are respectively fitted through the locking section 15 and the base seat 41 of the first slide rail assemblies 11. One end of the other bar member 43′ is positioned between the base seat 41 and the swinging member 42 of the first slide rail assemblies 11. The other end of the other bar member 43′ is positioned between the locking seat 52 and the other end of the block 54. The other end of the block 54 can abut against the other bar member 43′. Each end of the other bar member 43′ is also formed with a bar member guide slope 431′ like the bar member guide slope 431 for the first activator 13 and the other end of the block 54 to push the other bar member 43′. In other words, the locking section 15 can lock (referring to FIG. 8) and unlock (referring to FIG. 10) the two drawers.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 

1. A slide rail locking device disposed in a cabinet having at least two drawers arranged from upper side to lower side, whereby when one of the drawers is drawn out, the other drawer is prevented from being drawn out, said slide rail locking device comprising: a first slide rail assembly and a second slide rail assembly mounted respectively for the drawers, the first slide rail assembly being positioned above the second slide rail assembly corresponding thereto, each of the first and second slide rail assemblies including a stationary slide rail and a telescopic slide rail assembly, the stationary slide rail being fixed on the cabinet, the telescopic slide rail assembly being mounted on a corresponding drawer and back and forth slidably positioned in the stationary slide rail, the telescopic slide rail assembly being extendable out from front end of the stationary slide rail; a first activator disposed at one end of the telescopic slide rail assembly; and a second activator disposed on the stationary slide rail corresponding to the first activator, the second activator including a base seat, a swinging member and a bar member, the base seat being arranged at one end of the stationary slide rail, the swinging member being disposed on the base seat corresponding to the first activator, the swinging member being reciprocally movable between a first position and a second position across the sliding direction of the telescopic slide rail assembly, the swinging member having at least one swinging guide slope for guiding the first activator into the base seat, whereby the first activator pushes the swinging member to move from the first position to the second position, the bar member being reciprocally movably disposed between the first and second slide rail assemblies, two ends of the bar member being respectively fitted through the base seats of the first and second slide rail assemblies and positioned between the base seats and the swinging members, whereby when the swinging members of the first and second slide rail assemblies are positioned in the second position, none of the swinging members can restrict the bar member from sliding, when the telescopic slide rail assembly of one of the slide rail assemblies is extended, the swinging member of this slide rail assembly moving from the second position to the first position, whereby the swinging member abuts against and chucks the bar member to prevent the bar member from sliding and the telescopic slide rail assembly of the other slide rail assembly will be unable to extend forward, the first activator of the other slide rail assembly serving to push the bar member when released from the swinging member.
 2. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the telescopic slide rail assembly includes a drawer slide rail.
 3. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the telescopic slide rail assembly further includes a middle slide rail, the drawer slide rail being mounted on a corresponding drawer and slidably positioned in the middle slide rail.
 4. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first activator is a tongue projecting toward the stationary slide rail.
 5. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first activator is a tongue projecting toward the stationary slide rail.
 6. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first activator is a tongue projecting toward the stationary slide rail.
 7. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one end of the swinging member is fixed on the base seat, while the other end of the swinging member extends toward the telescopic slide rail assembly and is bent to the stationary slide rail to form the swinging guide slope.
 8. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 2, wherein one end of the swinging member is fixed on the base seat, while the other end of the swinging member extends toward the telescopic slide rail assembly and is bent to the stationary slide rail to form the swinging guide slope.
 9. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 3, wherein one end of the swinging member is fixed on the base seat, while the other end of the swinging member extends toward the telescopic slide rail assembly and is bent to the stationary slide rail to form the swinging guide slope.
 10. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each end of the bar member is formed with a bar member guide slope for the first activator to push the bar member.
 11. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 2, wherein each end of the bar member is formed with a bar member guide slope for the first activator to push the bar member.
 12. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 3, wherein each end of the bar member is formed with a bar member guide slope for the first activator to push the bar member.
 13. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the bar member is further formed with another bar member guide slope opposite to the bar member guide slope.
 14. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the bar member is further formed with another bar member guide slope opposite to the bar member guide slope.
 15. The slide rail locking device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the bar member is further formed with another bar member guide slope opposite to the bar member guide slope. 